"Clothing is the single most effective form of sun protection. It is our first line of defense against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays."

Nearly 3.7 million skin cancers are diagnosed in the US annually, and the vast majority of them are caused by solar UV radiation (UVR). UVR also causes up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging, such as wrinkles, brown spots, and sagging skin. Fortunately, clothing can absorb or block much of this radiation.

If you're particularly sensitive to the sun's damaging UV rays, then all of our SunScreen, SunBlocker, SolarWeave fabric, SolarKnit, Solar Twill, Burlington MCS Blacker fabrics and the other sun blocking fabrics here can help protect your health. Even if you're not especially sensitive, having a sun blocking shirt, skirt or pants for a day out on the water or at the beach is a good idea.

All of these fabrics block at least 97% of the sun's UVA and UVB rays. We offer these sun protective UPF rated fabrics either by the yard or by the roll. Hang tags are available. Click here to see.

COMMON UPF RATINGS

Protection Category

UPF Rating

Average UVA & UVB Blocking

Excellent

UPF50 or UPF50+

Blocks 98% of UVA and UVB

UPF40

Blocks 97.5% of UVA and UVB

Very Good

UPF30

Blocks 96.7% of UVA and UVB

Good

UPF20

Blocks 95% of UVA and UVB

UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) represents the ratio of sunburn-causing UV without and with the protection of the fabric, similar to SPF (Sun Protection Factor) ratings for sunscreen. While standard summer fabrics have UPF ~6, sun protective clothing typically has UPF ~30, which means that only 1 out of ~30 units of UV will pass through (~3%). See more at Wikipedia Sun Protective Clothing page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_protective_clothing